Portside

Lacino Hamilton has been locked up inside Michigan state prisons for over 23 years. He has “lived” in more than half of the state’s 40-plus prisons. Yet he has not wasted this time. He has become a powerful analyst, critical voice, an organic intellectual as some might put it. Here is one of his most profound contributions to our understanding of mass incarceration: Being Sane In An Insane Place. ~ James Kilgore

Barely free press; iPhone’s world; Facebook’s bias; Amazon’s ambitions; Ransomware hell; Straphangers tweet back

Opaque machinery raises questions about the vote count.

The walkout was at once a demand that management respect the work done by copy editors and others involved in the editing process and a plea to save their jobs. In a letter addressed to The Times top newsroom management, editing staff who are members of the News Guild CWA Local 31003, said that after 18 months of mistreatment by management, “we are finding it difficult to feel respected.”

By playing for centrist and neoconservative votes, national Democrats have left the party floundering with no coherent political message and creating a daunting challenge for democracy, says Nicolas J S Davies.

Big picture: This moment in human history is not about Trump. It’s not about Putin. It’s not about whether you despise either or neither or both. What’s at stake in the dynamics between them is life on this planet.

“This is a war against normal life.” So said CNN correspondent Clarissa Ward, describing the situation at this moment in Syria, as well as in other parts of the Middle East.

On Tuesday, May 9, Haymarket Books hosted a conversation between Michelle Alexander and Naomi Klein, moderated by Keeanga-Yamahtta Taylor, in front of a sold-out crowd of 3,000 at Chicago's Auditorium Theatre.

Here at The Next System Project, we’ve been exploring the connections between space, violence, and gender inequities, looking both at the spaces of the built environment and the way social practices structure those spaces. Part of that exploration is talking to organizers like Jessica Raven, Executive Director of Collective Action for Safe Spaces (CASS)—read our quick conversation below!

As I watch current events in Venezuela, I am haunted by memories of Chile. I lived in Chile from July 1972 until February 1973, while socialist Salvador Allende was president. I left Chile months before the fascist coup, although I had planned to return. That door closed.